In many types of electronic circuits, a driver may be used to interface a control signal with a switch or output, for example. In some specific examples, drivers are used as output buffers for integrated circuits (ICs). In such examples, a driver is coupled to the output and configured to supply or drive an output that may be coupled to any type of electronic component, such as another IC, sensor, display, or actuator. In many instances, numerous components are coupled to an electronic bus that can convey signals between the components attached to the bus. In such cases, drivers are used to supply the signals originating at the components to the bus. Drivers may be operated to perform according to numerous specifications, such as operating with a specific output voltage and/or current, for example.
In some example implementations, drivers may operate at a higher voltage, current, and/or power rating than other electronic elements configured to supply control or drive signals to the driver. An element known as a pre-driver may be used before a driver in order to more precisely control the driver, e.g., because the electronic properties of the driver may not exactly match the other electronic elements of the system. The pre-driver is coupled to the driver and supplies the control signals to the driver circuit. A pre-driver may be configured to affect switching characteristics, such as on-time, rise-fall time, propagation delay, short circuit current, or other characteristics, for example.
A driver may be configured to provide an output signal and drive a bus connection while a pre-driver controls the driver based on signals received from digital electronics in the core of an IC. Pre-driver engineering often requires substantial balancing of beneficial performance characteristics and presents challenges suitable for inventive solutions.